A 7-Year-Old Shunyi Girl is Beijing’s First Confirmed Case of Bird Flu

A 7-year-old girl from a family of Shunyi poultry sellers is Beijing’s first confirmed case of H7N9. According to a report in the Wall Street Journal:

The girl is in stable condition at a local hospital, it said. Officials said her parents are poultry sellers and live in Beijing’s Shunyi district. Authorities said her parents don’t appear to have the disease. Experts both inside and outside of China say the disease doesn’t appear to be contagious from person to person, which would make it considerably more dangerous.

There have been rumors all week of cases of H7N9 in Beijing, which officials had all previously denied until this case was confirmed today.

According to the WSJ this brings the total number of H7N9 cases in China to 44, 11 of which have been fatal.

Check Dr Richard’s post on MyHealthBeijing for tips on how to avoid infection.